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6 Ways to KonMari Your Junk

You don’t just have a junk drawer; You have a junk garage or basement or backyard or spare room. The thought of getting in there and clearing it out and organizing the space is so overwhelming that you just end up letting it sit month after month or maybe even year after year.

But getting rid of all that stuff is easier than you may have thought. You just need to know where to look, so you can dive in and get through the mess. These tips will get you on your way.

Hire a junk removal company

1-800-GOT-JUNK and Junk King are two of the largest junk removal companies but there are a ton out there. The benefit to using the full-service junk removal option is that you don’t have to do a thing other than point to the stuff that needs to be hauled away.

It’s important to know that in general, “their services and service models aren’t often well suited for picking up one or two items,” said Dolly. In addition, there is typically a minimum cost, so you’ll want to make sure you ask know what you’re getting into ahead of time so there are no surprises later on.

Search on Nextdoor

If you do only have a few items or you want to do some price comparisons, check out local resources on Nextdoor. Never underestimate the power of a couple of high school kids and a truck!

Pay attention to local events

In our city, you can “Chunk your junk” a couple times a year. This free event allows you to get rid of everything from refrigerators to household chemical waste to outright trash. Be sure to check the rules for your particular area; cities often have specific requirements about what you can and can’t bring, and how some items, like medications, have to be treated for disposal.

Arrange for large item pickup

Your local trash removal company may have a large item pickup service separate from their regular trash pickup. In some cases, this is offered as a free service on a monthly basis. Be sure to ask about limitations in terms of what they will pick up and how many items you can put out at once.

Rent a bin

Many junk removal companies also offer self-service trash bins. They drop them off empty, you toss all your trash in it, and they haul it off.

Call a donation company

You likely have several things you can donate within your piles of stuff. Just because they are no longer useful to you doesn’t mean someone else won’t want them. And, you’ll be doing a good deed at the same time.

“Salvation Army and Goodwill may even pick up the stuff if you also have furniture included,” Felice Cohen, a professional organizer based in New York City, told U.S. News. “You receive a tax write-off, and while it’s not the equivalent of what you spent on those items, you’re not going to make the money back from selling it at a yard sale.”

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